Kathua and Unnao: The Saffron Republic of Rape
Shivani Kaul
At the beginning of this year, if you had thought that the all socio-economic as well as cultural lows which a crisis-laden capitalist system with its political expression- a fascist regime at the helm of the affairs could reach, were already attained in the last three and a half years, you were, not surprisingly enough, proved wrong. The past few months in the history of this country have once again demonstrated the new depths to which a fascist dispensation can go. The horrific rape and murder of an eight year old girl in Kathua in Jammu and the rape of a minor in Unnao in Uttar Pradesh have gone on to the reveal the real essence of Hindutva Fascism. These incidents have proved that it’s, in fact, the women (most noticeably those who are from the most oppressed sections of the society) who are at the receiving end of the worst kind of fascist barbarities. The detractors (read Bhakts) would argue that this is not the first time that incidents of rapes are happening, crimes against women occur on an every-day basis and hence dismiss the protests against these barbaric acts as “selective outrage”. However, the truth is that the rapes might not be new, but what is actually unheard of is the impunity and shameless political patronage perpetrators of rape enjoy under this Hindutva fascist regime.
In Kathua, where an 8-year old child was brutally raped and murdered inside the precincts of a temple by those who can hardly be called humans, rallies were held in support of the rapists under the banner of Hindu Ekta Manch, an outfit formed to “demand justice” for the accused. A look at the membership of this self-styled saffron outfit reveals the petty-bourgeois core base of the Hindutva fascist politics- contractors, small-time realtors, businessmen, agents, brokers, property dealers, shopkeepers etc. Most of them have ties with RSS and their affiliation cut across party lines. These fascist scums and hoodlums might have diverse party-affiliations, owing to their immediate political interests and gains but ideologically, their umbilical cord with Sangh Privaar is very much intact. These rallies found support as well as attendance from two sitting MLA’s of Bhartiya Janta Party who also happened to be ministers in the government. These “custodians” of Hindu religion, while brazenly raising the slogans of “Bharat Mata Ki Jai”, “Jai Sri Ram” and carrying the tricolor were trying to gather justification for this heinous rape and murder of a child by using these by-now- all-too-familiar tropes in the armory of Hindutva nationalism. It does not need to be mentioned that these “symbols of nationalist pride” have been put to use earlier too for inciting riots, shielding the corrupt and in pronouncing every political opposition as anti-national. However, this time the fascists reached a new nadir by using these to defend and legitimize the acts of the child-rapists! If this was not enough, media houses like Zee News, who are too busy being lapdogs of likes of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, were running outrageous fake stories of no rape ever happening in Kathua.
In the second incident, where yet another BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar was implicated in the gang-rape of a minor girl, the Yogi Adityanath government took no action for more than a year against him, until the minor tried to immolate herself in front of the chief minister’s residence. The girl’s father was arrested subsequently and was tortured to death in custody.
When the horror of Kathua and Unnao were still unfolding, more reports of such savagery poured in from other parts of the country including Sasaram, Surat and Indore. Needless to say, that these incidents constitute very miniscule percentage of crimes against women. Till this day, most cases get unreported.
What needs to be underlined here is the fact that mere outrage over these horrific crimes won’t put an end to these. Neither the liberal incantations to humanity would lead to any change. If one doesn’t know the underlying fundamental cause which spurs anti-women crimes and perpetuate misogyny in the socio- economic fabric, one can’t fight it. We need to ask the question what are the forces that are helping elements like Kathua rapists and men like Kuldeep Singh Sengar thrive?
It is here that the unholy alliance subsisting between the patriarchy and capitalism comes into picture. Capitalism has rather ingenuously co-opted the patriarchal values which infest every nook and corner of our social fabric and which also legitimize and justify the oppression of women. Also a sense of apathy and indifference towards something like rape is perpetuated through ideological-cultural means in the minds of people day in day out. Post Neo-liberalization, the “eat-drink-make merry” culture of the neo-rich, which perceives women merely as commodities to be consumed and exchanged, has led to an intensified augumentation of anti-women atrocities. Aren’t the rapists and the culture of rape products of this decadent capitalist culture itself?
However, this does not mean that specificities of something like Kathua can be overlooked. These are too obvious too be ignored. The use of sexual violence in Kathua as a political tool by the Hindutva fascist forces to instill fear among the minorities is a stark reality. Even the charge-sheet filed by the Police department clearly mentions this. The gruesome act was part of a larger conspiracy by the Hindutva elements to drive away the Muslim Bakkarwals from their villages. The rallies which were organized in support of the culprits under the banner of ‘Hindu Ekta Manch’ also demonstrate that rape was used here with a larger political intent in mind.
Moreover, the incidents like Unnao have shown that the lawmakers who are supposed to protect the citizens (!) are themselves complicit in these acts and because of the political patronage that they enjoy, they hardly ever face any repercussions. A report by ‘Association of Democratic Rights’ states that there are 51 such members of Parliament and Legislative Assemblies who face charges of heinous crimes against women including rape. No prizes for guessing that the BJP, here too takes the trophy! The party of “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” fame, which never for a moment shies away from claiming itself to be repository of “high morals and ethics”(which, by the way, was at full display when the likes of Asaram, Rampal and Ram Rahim were being shielded!) is the new haven for rapists, riotors, goons, corrupt of all political hues- in short, the scumbags of the bourgeois politics. So much for their chal, chehra, charitra!
The incidents in Kathua and Unnao have demonstrated the true essence of the Hindutva Fascism. The misogyny and anti-women sentiment that is at heart of Hindutva Fascist ideology and in fact drives and propels it is there for everyone to see. However, liberal bourgeois invocations to better sense and reason have never, neither in the past helped the cause of women, nor will they do now. Still more importantly, the ‘much-maligned’ class analysis with respect to the question of women liberation, too, needs to be undertaken. The ilk of Meenakshi Lekhis and Smriti Iranis, who were vociferously up in arms against those calling out Hindutva fascists for their inherent misogynistic character, can never be allies of any progressive radical anti-patriarchy, anti-capitalist programme. The truth is that the enemies of humanity and human essence- who fascists actually are will have to be dealt with in an altogether revolutionary fashion. Now the question is- can women afford to stay behind?
